Jan 152009
Here’s a rundown of the disability-related provisions contained in the proposed stimulus bill that was unveiled today. This information comes from the summary released by the House leadership:
- IDEA Special Education: $13 billion for formula grants to increase the federal share of special education costs and prevent these mandatory costs from forcing states to cut other areas of education.
- IDEA Infants and Families: $600 million for formula grants to help states serve children with disabilities age 2 and younger.
- Vocational Rehabilitation State Grants: $500 million for state formula grants for construction and rehabilitation of facilities to help persons with disabilities prepare for gainful employment.
- Payments to Disabled and Elderly: $4.2 billion to help 7.5 million low-income disabled and elderly individuals with rising costs by providing an additional SSI payment in 2009 equal to the average monthly federal payment under the program (approximately $450 for an individual and $630 for a couple). This one-time payment will serve as an immediate economic stimulus as half of SSI recipients have no other form of income and the other half average outside income of less than $450 per month.
- Social Security Administration Disability Backlog and Claims Processing: $500 million to help the Social Security Administration process a steep rise in disability and retirement claims, getting people their benefits faster, and preventing existing backlogs from getting worse. Within this total, $40 million will help SSI upgrade health information technology.
- Centers for Independent Living: $200 million for state formula grants to help individuals with disabilities continue to live in their communities.
The disability community may also find other provisions interesting, such as the $87 billion to shore up Medicaid and the $6 billion to improve broadband access in rural and underserved areas. These details will almost certainly change in the course of subsequent negotiations, but I would be surprised if the final bill didn’t include these items in one form or another.
